Fansided

Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Outlook: New York Rangers

By Richard Cardinale |
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: Antti Raanta #32 of the New York Rangers stretches during pregame warmups before the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on March 13, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: Antti Raanta #32 of the New York Rangers stretches during pregame warmups before the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on March 13, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

Vegas Golden Knights guaranteed to get a great player from the New York Rangers.

At the expansion draft, Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee will jump for joy when he see’s whats for the taking on the Rangers roster. New York’s loaded up and down the roster. From the Goaltender to a Defenseman or to a Forward, the Golden Knights will most certainly have their hands full scouting the Rangers.

The Rangers sit in 4th place in the Metropolitan division and comfortably in playoff position with a 44-24-2 record. The team plays a very balanced style on offense and defense. And don’t forget the team has one of the best goalies in the world.

Young players like Brady Skjei, Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey are all exempt from the expansion draft in June. But that doesn’t mean New York is out of the woods. Not by a long shot.

It doesn’t matter what protection scheme Rangers General Manger Jeff Gorton uses, the team will lose a quality player no matter what. The Rangers have much more depth on their defense rather than their offense. Due to that fact, I’ve decided that the best option for the Broadway Blueshirts is protecting seven Forwards, three Defensemen and one Goalie.

The obvious keep in-goal is King Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist is not having the best of seasons for the team on Broadway. The Sweden born goalie is 30-17-2 on the season with a 2.65 GAA and .913 save percentage. Lundqvist has also been hampered with injuries all season.

Backup goaltender Antti Raanta has been a bright spot for the Rangers all season long. The Finnish netminder has made an impact every time he’s in goal and got key stops in big situations. Raanta is 14-7-0 with a 2.29 GAA, a save percentage of .921 and three shutouts. If your George McPhee, you have to consider Raanta to be one of the possible candidates to start in net for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Related Story: What You Need To Know About Reid Duke By The Numbers.

On defense, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi both hold no-movement clauses which automatically means they must be protected by the team. Ryan McDonagh is the other obvious choice on the blue line for New York. But that doesn’t mean the Vegas Golden Knights can’t go after the teams fourth Defenseman.

Defenseman Nick Holden is having a breakout campaign for the Broadway Blueshirts. Holden has 10 Goals, 20 Assists, 30 Points and a +14 plus minus/rating. For the Rangers to keep Holden, Gorton must ask Girardi or Staal to waive their no–movement clauses but I don’t see that happening.

It even gets tougher at Forward for the Rangers as well. The obvious locks are Rick Nash, Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan, JT Miller and Mika Zibanejad. Forwards such as Michael Grabner, Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Pirri  and Jesper Fast are all going to be exposed to Vegas and McPhee should be happy with all those choices.

Boy do the Vegas Golden Knights have a lot of appetizing options. If I’m the pro scouts of the Vegas Golden Knights, I would be scouting a ton of Rangers games the rest of the way. One of the best players the Vegas Golden Knights will have will come from New York.

I’m a big fan of Michael Grabner and he could be a true possibility for the Golden Knights. Even while he gets limited ice time, his 27 Goals leads the Rangers. I just don’t think Grabner will be able to get those type of numbers in an expanded role playing against the NHL’s best defensemen. I’m also not sure how much more development growth he could get at the age of 30. Keep your eye on him Golden Knights fans.

Nick Holden is another candidate to come to Vegas. He’s been sensational since his move to New York. However, I think the Rangers will make a deal with the Golden Knights to allow them not to take Holden. All that needs to happen is a draft pick(s) for a promise not to take the 29-year old defenseman. Holden should be on the Vegas radar however.

However, I believe Antti Raanta is the guy George McPhee should absolutely take. Raanta is only 27 years old and he definitely has done enough to earn himself an NHL starting job. The way Raanta has come in and relieved Lundqvist has been outstanding. In his last three years in the big leagues, his GAA is at an impressive 2.18 and a .924 save percentage.

Raanta also has his faults like every other NHL goaltender does. He’s a bit undersized for a goalie and he hasn’t started more than 23 games in a season before. Raanta must prove to the doubters that he has the capabilities to start at least 60 games in goal for the Golden Knights.

Raanta is obviously not the only choice on the Rangers, but I believe he would be a solid addition to the expansion franchise. You can make a case that Grabner or Holden could be coming to T-Mobile Arena soon as well. This may be a cliché saying but I just think the way to win hockey games starts and ends at the goaltender position. Raanta could be the guy that does that for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Next: Which Top Defenseman Will The Islanders Hand Over To The Vegas Golden Knights?

Golden Knights Prediction: Antti Raanta

Home / Editorials